Solar energy is a very promising clean energy. A solar cell which can directly convert solar light into electricity has been the focus recently. One of the major requirements for obtaining a high-efficiency solar cell is to enhance the absorption of solar light. All high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells up to date are textured on the front surface to reduce the reflection losses and to improve the light-trapping properties. Texturization of crystalline silicon is one of the essential processes in solar cell manufacturing. A well-textured wafer surface enhances the effectiveness of light absorption to a solar cell, which is deemed to be important for a cell's IQE (internal quantum efficiency).
In view of the above, the industry continues to try improve the texturization of the crystalline silicon substrate to reduce reflectivity. To date, efforts are placed on tuning the texturing process parameters to control size and uniformity of the textured structures. Little attention has been paid to the variables of wafer surface qualities and the effects of pre-texture surface conditioning on the texturization results.